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if youthen this willbrids arbe a nice surprise. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max come. c-max go. c-max give a ride to everyone it knows. c max has more passenger volume than competitor prius v and we haven't even mentioned... c-max also gets better mpg. say hi to the super fuel efficient ford c-max hybrid. >> steve: tomorrow we got a big show. >> anna: yes, we do. senator tom coburn.

>> brian: dr. ben carson, miami dolphins wide receiver brian heartland. and if you have to run from the tv, run to the radio. mark burnett, roma downey and coach hurlly will be live in studio. >> steve: we'll see you back here tomorrow. thanks, anna. there is breaking news a deadly explosion at a military base in nevada. it happened at the hawthorne army depot, 140 miles southeast of reno. police say ammunition blew up during a marine corps training exercise. not clear how many were killed or injured there. we're waiting for an update from the marines. we'll bring you the information as soon as it comes in. meantime, big announcement. this is significant. expected soon on the immigration debate. we're awaiting senator rand paul on the stage any moment now at the hispanic chamber of commerce. wait until you hear his headline. good morning, everybody,

senator john cornyn from texas. we're live here at "america's newsroom." we have a busy day. martha: good morning, bill. i'm martha maccallum. senator rand paul throws his support behind a path for citizenship for the 11 million so illegal immigrants in america. >> we're trying to add teeth to the bipartisan plan. we want to make sure border security is in there. as conservatives we always worry, you will give them legal status and say we give border security later, it never comes like so many liberal promises. what we're asking for is, every year we get to vote on whether the border is becoming more secure. all immigration reform is dependent on those votes. congress gets to vote. not the administration report. congress gets to vote whether or not the border is secure. bill: that is one senator who is making headlines for a couple weeks now. kelly wright live in

washington. what is senator paul's objective here, kelly. >> reporter: the bottom line here, bill, first of all good morning to you as well. senator rand paul believes immigration reform condition not become a reality without conservative republicans seated at table, in other words getting involved. paul is riding a waive of popularity among conservatives. he is expending some of the political capital of his making it clear he supports comprehensive immigration reform but with certain conditions. the senator is taking his message to the streets so to speak. he is addressing the u.s. hispanic chamber of commerce this morning. he will unveil his immigration plan. he explained to fox news his plan is different from fellow republican senator marco rubio and from president obama in that he wants to be able to sink some teeth into it and make sure that there is border security that is, that you can trust and verify it does exist before moving on. bill: kelly, as you're talking there, senator cornyn is live by the way. we expect rand paul to be

next. that's why that is on the screen. right now there are 11 mill illegals in the u.s. today. how would senator paul handle that? >> reporter: well, his position could give a boost to a bipartisan group of eight senators who are seeking ways to overhaul immigration reform. here is what senator proposes. you believes you have to move forward first acknowledging the united states is not going to deport those 11 million illegal immigrants. that is position as you know will frustrate some of his tea party supporters who are adamant that illegal citizens must be sent back to their native country before reentering this country. senator paul tells fox news, what congress annually for five years making sure that the borders are secure, then providing temporary work visas they can make a pathway towards citizenship. bill: kelly, thanks. kelly wright with the headline from washington. martha has more now. martha: a look at illegal immigrants in america. an estimated 11.1 million

people are in the united states illegally. that number is unchanged in the previous two years. at its peak, 770,000 immigrants arrived from mexico. the majority came here illegally. i.c.e. removed nearly 400,000 illegals in 2011. that was the biggest number in the agency's history. in just hours a vote will happen on the bank deposit seizure in cyprus. banks there still closed after people made a mad rush to get their money out of those banks. if cyprus does not get the bailout from europe its banks have basically no money, no funds to give out to those people as they come to withdraw. that is what we call a run on the bank, folks. now reports say the russians could step in with cash in exchange for rights to and gas. this raised a lot of eyebrows when it started to come through last night. stuart varney is the anchor of "varney & company" on the fox business network.

how about this wrinkle, stuart? >> you're right. this is a very fluid situation. all kinds of international skulduggery going on here. in two hours there will be a vote in cyprus, a yes or no vote on this seizure of bank deposits. all indications are it will be a no vote. what then? cyprus doesn't get the bailout from the europeans. in come the russians. they have an offer supposedly that says, we'll give you the cash, we'll bail you out, in return for the rights to all that oil and gas that you've got just off your coastline. at that point, what the europeans do? this they want the russians coming in and seizing control of a big chunk of energy right in the center of europe? it is possible they will come in and say, you voted know on the bank seizure, maybe we'll give you a whole ton of cash anyway so you don't collapse and we'll keep the russians out. that is the kind of international intrigue going on right as we speak, martha. martha: yeah.

>> one second. it is possible there will be a yes vote and those bank deposits will be seized. if that happened the russians would be mightily displeased because it is their money that will go to bailout and be seized for the bailout of cyprus. martha: stuart what's your feeling which way this would go? >> i think it will be a no vote and i think there's a real crunch --. martha: no to the bailout. what do they say to russia? >> in the long run, what do they say to russia. there is all this $30 billion of hot russian money in cyprus banks, some of it could be seized. on the other hand there is this offer, hey, don't worry about it. we'll bail you out, just give us oil and gas. does europe want russia controlling such a strategic asset right in the middle of europe? it is a very complicated situation. martha: one last thought here, sort of the monday morning quarterback on this, does

martha: stuart, thank you so much. stuart varney. see you later on fbn. bill: remember "snl" in 1980s. ma and pa hammer. last ones in the door to get the money. so many countries have huge issues. along with cyprus, that includes greece and spain, ireland and portugal in red there. the economies there were slow and germany the fifth

biggest. great britain at number eight. france the 9th largest. all shrink shrinking in the last quarter. that is not what you want. entire eurozone by the way losing huge number of jobs. a record 19 million are unemployed. martha: deadly storm causing serious problems across the south. areas of alabama got pummeled with large hail. some of it was the size of baseballs. that is an unusual sight. that is what they had there. high winds causing issues in georgia. thousand people waking up without power there. national weather service say the storm destroyed a store and a dozen homes. look at the wreckage on the ground. one man was killed when the wind topple ad tree on to his car. bill: we had whiteout conditions here in new york city last night and a new round of snow making for a tough commute across the northeast. new england could see the worst of it. that region getting hit with

several major storms over the winter. it could get up to 20 inches of snow by the time this storm passs? maria molina live in the fox severe weather center. it is white out there. >> good morning everyone. that's right, more snow headed for new england where we pick up significant snowfall accumulations. look at some numbers. in mass -- massachusetts some areas seen ten inches of snow. in wakefield, 9.8 inches. we have video out of the boston area where they could see anywhere between four to eight inches of snow snow out there before the storm system heads out of the area. this is just outside of boston, worcester, massachusetts. this is strong winds gustings up to 30 miles an hour at times. that is what produces the whiteout conditions in addition to the snowfall across the region. areas in connecticut over five inches. part of rhode island picking up five inches of snow. the snow is still coming

down. we have winter storm warnings in effect of parts of maine, new hampshire, parts of upstate new york. those are the areas that could see locally up to a foot or more of snow out here. eventually some rain will mix in. that is something that should occur in the city of boston, keeping the snow numbers or totals down a little bit. otherwise i want point out we have very cold air behind the storm system. windchill temperatures, eight teen degrees in fargo when you head out the door. bill? bill: first day of spring tomorrow, right? >> allegedly. bill: right on. thanks maria. ten minutes past the hour now. martha. martha: we're just getting started. new reports just in on what could be the latest budget battle going on in washington. it might put a damper on a very fun old tradition there. come on. bill: house democrats unveiling a plan for the new budget, including new taxes. how much you ask? reaction from one of the top republican leaders in the house on that dollar figure.

martha: how about this? there is a report out there that a hacker is giving out confidential memos on the terror attack in benghazi. how could this have happened when lawmakers and the victims families still do not have any answers in terms of what they have been demanding? big questions this morning. john bolton on that. >> the security in benghazi was a struggle and remain ad struggle throughout my time there. the situation remained uncertain and the reports from some libyans indicated it was getting worse. diplomatic security remained weak. in april there was only one u.s. diplomatic security agent stationed there. ♪ [ male announcer ] help brazil reduce its overall reliance on foreign imports with the launch of the country's largest petrochemical operation. ♪ when emerson takes up the challenge, "it's never been done before" simply bemes consider it solved.

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martha: new details now about explosives that were found inside a college dorm room in florida. you remember this story from yesterday morning. police now believe that student may have been plotting an attack. he killed himself. police did find two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a backpack that was filled with explosives in his room.

bill: washington getting ready for a possible government shutdown about a week from now? will that happen? the obama administration warning lawmakers it might have to cancel the annual easter egg roll on the first of april. that event happens every year. expected to draw ten of thousands to the white house set for april 1st, just a few days after the could run out of money. white house is saying finally by using these tickets guests are acknowledging this is subject to cancellation due to funding uncertainty surrounding the executive office of the president and other federal agencies. if canceled the event will not be scheduled. we'll notify you if there are any modifications of the event. that bass part of the fine print given to members of congress when the invites went out. invites to bob beckel, former campaign manager co-host of "the five." brad blakeman, deputy campaign manager of president george w. bush. good morning to you. who wants to be peter cottontail here? brad, do you want to raise

for your hand for that or is that better suted for bob? >> i will raise my hand. bill: what kind of a mess have they gotten themselves into? >> the president to say a event funded by almost entirely by corporate donation has to be canceled. don't forget, they went to every member of congress not only to themselves or families this is shot over the bow of congress if it is canceled it is your fault. the fact. matter this event is mostly underwritten by volunteers who donate their time and money. there is very little cost to the government. this is tradition that goes back decades upon decades. it is punishment to the people who line up to come to their kids to an event become part of this --. bill: but for now it is on schedule so members of congress can come in and members of the public can not so tours have been canceled. >> that's right. bill: bob, how do you see it? >> i want to thank you for

inviting me to talk about the uplifting story. bill: you're welcome. >> because of sequestration, christmas has been canceled. bill: that would be -- >> i wanted you to make news right here on your show to begin the day. look, it is, a lot of things i could think about cutting before i would cut this, but, having said that, the truth is there is going to be a $85 billion taken out of the economy from the federal government. there are going to be a lot of people who will be hurt by this thing. it is not a ofing matter. we could pick out one of two outrageous things like this, here you go begin. a lot of people will lose their jobs. a lot of functions of the government will slow down. i think that is nothing we ought to be laughing about. bill: listen, all kidding to the side though, they expect 35,000 people on the south lawn of the white house for this, yet the public tours are closed. how expensive is it to have 35,000 people in one day you in as a member of congress can bring four family members. fine print says one of the

family members has to be under the age of 13. just a contradiction that people see right now based on the policy of the white house that goes back, brad, to the closing of the tours, that in retrospect, might have been perhaps not the best decision. >> bill, to show how incompetent this white house is, you mean that the president can control a $3.6 trillion annual budget, he can manage a $16 trillion deficit, but somehow he can't figure out how to keep tours open for the american people? he can't even figure that out? how is he supposed to figure out all those other heady things bob is talking about the real serious decisions which he can't control that he does control which is the white house. bill: talk about the job loss. that eventually will come. bob, if you were working in the white house would you have closed off the tours? i mean is that the decision you would have reached for? >> i would have canceled toilet paper order first. the reality is, but, look, you know, when brad talks

about this, there are now boats in newport news, virginia, in for retrofitting have been stopped, the work on them. there are airports that are in fact airports closed down, small ones around the country. there have been furloughs done at the border. there are a lot of things going on here that should not be looked at. bill: it will not look good if you have 35,000,000 members of congress and their family members on the south lawn -- >> i'm not arguing with you. i think it will look sense sayingal. i think it will be sensational something we out to advertise. reality if i was doing this, a way to do, i would assume somebody had this think about this these are smart people, whatever brad said about the how inept they won reelection by a wide margin. bill: we have breaking news. to be continued. bob and brad. thank you. martha: we're just getting reports there have been seven u.s. marines killed in a military base explosion this morning. this is being reported by ap

and several others on the wires right now. this area is 140 miles southeast of reno. it is hawthorne army depot. it is a high desert training facility and and area that stores and disposes of ammunition. we are learning of what appears to be just a tragic training accident this morning. at least that is the way it appears right now. we'll continue to bring you all of the breaking news on this. jennifer griffin working on this at the pentagon. she will join us live in moments. we'll be right back. to meeting patient needs... ♪ wireless is limitless. [ female announcer ] from finding the best way... ♪ to finding the best catch... ♪ wireless is limitless.

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bill: we shared this with you about 23 minutes ago. rand paul now on stage. hispanic chamber of commerce from washington, d.c., unveiling his plan for what he believes should happen for the immigration reform in america, securing the borders and the future for 11 million illegals. if you want to hear it, go

to our website at foxnews.com. it is streaming live online with more from that as we get headlines from washington. martha: all right. let's go overseas now because there is no end in sight to the deadly violence, this story is right here at home, folks. this is inner-city chicago. now a group mostly made of reformed ex-cons are reaching out to their community in a way that police can not. they're hoping to stop the violence before it starts. garrett tenny is live in chicago. >> reporter: good morning, martha. yeah, this group is called cease-fire. it is made up of mostly ex-gang members. they have a million dollar contract from the city to expand their presence on the street in an effort to prevent gang violence. this is a memorial for six month old jenliah watkins, the youngest shooting victim in chicago this month. >> chicago has become a war zone. >> reporter: a sad reality for tasha and her 4-year-old

daughter who don't live far from where the baby was killed. unintended target of gang violence according to police. >> good bless you all. y'all are doing a good job. >> reporter: to help curb the killings the city is reachinging out to a group called cease-fire, working to prevent violence before it happens especially between rival gangs. >> there is no 401(k) plan in the streets. the streets are a dead end. >> reporter: cease fire employs 100 workers across the city. many are reformed ex-convicts like martin who use street cred and reputation as violent interruptores to keep conflicts from escalating. >> evenly help to say sorry to i took the person's life it to stop taking someone else's live. >> reporter: they credit this with less shootings. >> they are down 21% the. >> reporter: chicago police say it is hard to measure

the exact impact. >> we have anecdotes and we're trying to figure out if it is exactly working. >> reporter: cease-fire's director says one the way to stop violence but by working too closely with police or seen working too closely with police it can be maintaining the trust challenging. funeral services for the 6-month-old girl are being held this morning, martha. martha: what a rough situation. garrett we want to welcome you to the fox news channel family. thanks for being with us. >> reporter: thank you. martha: we'll be seeing lots of you. bill: fox junior reporters program. martha: isn't that fantastic? bill: it can work actually. garrett, welcome. a pope for the people, martha. pope francis in his message to the faithful today, and the tone is holiness is setting. we're live with a beautiful day at the vatican. martha: plus this, a tale of reported confidential memos on benghazi sent to then

secretary of state hillary clinton. what one hacker says he has discovered. ♪ [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow! ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums.

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it? state-run syrian news agency claiming that 25 are dead in a rebel chemical attack in northern syria. that means the government in damascus is blaming the rebels. conor powell working the story live in the middle east bureau. conor, what can you report? >> reporter: well, bill, there's a lot of conflicting information right now coming out of syria. according to western intelligence officials they tell us unlike the reports that we're hearing right now out of syria, that in fact it was the assad regime used some type of chemical weapons on rebels in northern syria, around the aleppo region. of course the assad regime and assad state television said rebels used those weapons. what we're hearing from western intelligence officials, it was opposite, assad regime used some type of chemical weapons and killed somewhere between 15 and 26 people. conflicting reports. we heard 15. we also heard 26. there is a lot of differing

information right now. but we have confirmed of course, there have been some type of chemical weapons being used in syria. now who used them on exactly which group is still very much unclear right now, bill. bill: conor, thank you. just one line crossing the associated press at the moment here. reuters was reporting on this a little bit earlier. we're sorting through this on our end. conor come back when you have more from jerusalem there. martha: our thanks to him. this is breaking news right now. we want to bring in ambassador john bolton to get his reaction to this. you heard what conor powell told us. what do you think, ambassador? >> i don't take anything the assad regime says at face value. when they claim the rebels used chemical weapons it is likely as he reported that the regime used chemical weapons and is blaming it on the rebels. i don't think it is impossible that the rebels could get ahold of chemical

weapons. it is possible that some fell into the opposition hands. but whoever used chemical weapons, if in fact that is verified, that would be a significant change in this conflict and it would underline both the risks to the civilians of either side using chemical weapons in the syrian conflict, or, that those weapons could fall into hands that take them out of syria for use by terrorists around the world. that should be a top american priority, preventing that from happening. martha: and i believe, correct me if i'm wrong, earlier in this conflict, the administration here basically said that that was something of a red line. you know that they were this discouraging any use of chemical weapons but that that would change this game so to speak? >> yeah, well, red lines come and go for the obama administration. we'll see. i think obviously we need hard facts here as to exactly what's going on. i think it's difficult to effect the use of chemical weapons inside syria

directly because you're talking about very close circumstances, regimes, civilians, opposition, hard to get in the middle of that, but it is certainly should underline to us the risks that these weapons could come loose, fall into the hands of terrorists or regime officials who would sell them to terrorists and get out of the country. >> we know how hard it has been to get good reports out of syria. it is obviously such a danger zone at this point . what do you think the likelihood and how soon will with we get a good handle what really happened here and perhaps the evidence of these chemical weapons being used? >> well i'm sure tracking these weapons is already a high priority for our intelligence. it now needs to be i think a higher priority in light of these reports. and to finding out where the weapons may have been moved to, whether other units of the syrian army or the opposition may be prepared to use them. but certainly on absolute

higher alert border exit points from syria to make sure none of these weapons are getting outside the country. martha: thanks for your reaction to this breaking news. we also want it get your thoughts on the other story we originally brought you on here to talk about this morning and that this bombshell new report that a hacker claims he has begun to distribute confidential members -- memos on the benghazi terror attacks. the hacker claims that he stole e-mails september to former secretary of state hillary clinton and began sending them out to a range of public figures. what do you think about this? >> i think this is very interesting, this former clinton aide here is political advisor, he is not a foreign policy expert as least the last time i looked, and yet he is sending memos to the secretary of state on benghazi. let me say i don't think there is anything improper about that but certainly underlines the political nature of the administration's handling of the post-benghazi environment. and i can't wait to read

these memos. i'm sure they will be a real treat. i think it will simply increase demands in congress for answers about the real facts of benghazi that after six months we still haven't gotten skbri mean, the thoughts on hacking, everybodies that -- everybody has their feeling how this should be handled the law doesn't crack down on people's ability to tap into private exchanges. one thing i think it truly highlights here, if there is a need in social media, even extending into the law breakers, to learn more about what happened, it does, does it not, say something about the energy in this country to produce some truth in this matter? >> yeah. i think there should be more protection for intellectual property on the internet, for people's own communications but i certainly have no faith in the privacy protections now. that is why my e-mails are pretty boring. this is a, dealing with sensitive matters of

national security does raise a question, i think, whether classified information may have been compromised and what exactly were the nature of these communications. and, when you consider that other administration officials, former epa administrator, lisa jackson, were using nongovernment chan dmels for their -- channels for their e-mails you have to wonder what is going on inside the administration more broadly. martha: one of the bigger questions that surfaced the last couple of days, and a number of folks on capitol hill are pressing this issue, we haven't heard from any of these survivors. when you think about the fact there are 33 people out there, i can't really remember a story where something this big and this awful happened that we just don't hear anything from all of the people who were there. >> right. well, you know, normally i think it's not a prudent course for congress to be interfering in executive branch affairs, questioning low level people and the like but i think this is really an extraordinarily different circumstance.

it has not to do simply with benghazi but about potential threats and what the response ought to be to american posts, embassies, consulates and american official personnel and private citizens all around the world. not being able to understand fully what happened in benghazi means it's impossible to take the appropriate remedial and protective steps elsewhere which is what congress is trying to do and the whole thing has to me been a self-inflicted wound by the administration. if there is no political cover-up, if they don't have anything to hide, why not get the story out so that the congress and the public as a whole can react? martha: big question and it is still unanswered. ambassador bolton, thank you very much. good to talk with you. >> thank you, martha. bill: fox news confirms now that the fatal accident occurred during a training exercise in hawthorne, nevada, shortly before 10:00 last night, monday night. that is southeast of reno. seven servicemembers from the u.s. marine corps are dead. several others are injured

with the second marine division. the injured have been transported to area hospitals for treatment and further evaluation. notification of families happening at the moment. this at a storage depot in hawthorne, nevada. that is associated not just with the u.s. marines but also with the u.s. army. we're told, however, this particular incident had nothing to do with the ammunition that was stored there. what it had to do with is something we're still looking through but at the moment seven u.s. marines dead as a result. in that incident in nevada. martha: all right. let's take a look what is going on in the u.s. markets this morning. as you know the issue in cyprus over the past 48 hours has put a lot of jitters into the market over this european debt crisis. the dow is up about 37 points right now. for the time-being the u.s. markets seem to withstanding this fairly well, somewhat of a safe haven given what is going an within the rest of the western world. we'll keep an eye on it. up about 36. bill: we'll see when banks

reopen too and what happens then. there is a new budget plan and new taxes. how much it could cost you if it goes through. a top house republican joins us to react on that in a moment. martha: plus the republican party looks to the future. some saying that the national party can learn something from a number of governors across this country. >> i would urge us all to learn lessons that come from some of our greatest success stories, and that's 30 republican governors across the country. [applause] martha: one of those, republican governor of virginia, bob mcdonnell, joins us here next on "america's newsroom." we'll be right back.

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millions of dollars for a memorial to be built in washington but not everyone is happy with the design. members of the eisenhower family are set to testify at a house subcommittee hearing to do about it. one proposal would get rid of the design by architect frank geary and start over with a new round of proposals. this has been brewing for a long time. >> is it --. is it likely that president obama will make any major concessions on the entitlement programs without more new taxes? and is it, or and the other side of that of course is, will republicans be willing to go along with more new taxes to get reforms in the enlightment programs? -- entitlement programs. unless you can answer to one of those questions or both of them the chances of a deal in the end of any size seem to be a little bit remote despite all of the

atmospherics that we're seeing now. bill: how about that there? fox news senior political analyst brit hume in a handsome looking sweater i would say, talking about the budget battle. house democrats put out their plan. that plan includes $1.2 trillion in new taxes. california congressman kevin mccarthy, republican, house majority whip, talked to him a bit earlier about that idea and how it could go over. kevin mccarthy, good morning and welcome back here to "america's newsroom". >> good morning. thanks for having me. bill: reflect on what you heard from the house democrats, a budget with $1.2 trillion in taxes. $200 billion in stimulus, which is about twice the amount we heard from senate democrats last week. >> it's the same failed policies of the past. i mean if you compare, look at this, the republican plan balances in ten years. the democrat plan never balances but goes back to more taxes and more spending. that's a failed future for us and that's why, we'll have this debate and the republican plan could

actually put us back to work, balance the budget which would take less money from government, put more money in the private sector, that would create more jobs through small business. bill: chris van hollen, who was with us last week, your democratic colleague he came with some spirit and some vigor he and he was pushing back in a significant way. this is it what he says about the house republican plan of the his idea will accelerate economic recovery. and he also talks about how it will grow jobs and your plan will shrink jobs. what do you think of that? >> well, i think he's wrong. and not just me who thinks he is wrong. read "the washington post." that is not known for being a republican paper. they say that the democrats have no idea about the fiscal mess that is going on. then read "the wall street journal" article today that has two economists from stanford, that little college over on the west side of our country? they say the republican plan will actually boost economic growth by 1% in 2014 which means, $1500 to every

family. and increase it by 3% in the out years which would mean $4500 almost to every single family. bill:. that somebody analyzing it that is an economist, john taylor. he is a known economist out there that i believe is a better and fairer measurement of what two futures. bill: state of california. listen, on the senate democratic plan, this is something you guys have been pushing now for 1400 and some odd days, it has been more than four years. senate democrats showed their hand last week in three areas when it comes to obamacare. the house plan will eliminate obamacare. the senate plan will keep it. on medicare the house plan will go to a voucher-like model. the senate democratic plan, modest cuts to providers. social security call the president and congress to address the issue. senate democratic plan, no specifics. which way is washington moving? >> well, hopefully washington is moving the way

the country wants to move. that they want to save medicare so they will look to the republican plan. the other two items in the plan is not mentioned is overall tax reform where we close the loopholes and lower the rate so individuals could get more money, instead of on the democrat side, they close loopholes to keep wasting money in government. the other item is we do energy reform where we become energy independent, creates jobs in america but also lowers the price of gasoline and lowers the price of natural gas that we see today that creates new manufacturing jobs in america. so when you look at an overall plan, do you want more taxes more spending or do you want the country to grow in the republican plan that we have. bill: now you get your wish because you see their plan and we see your plan publicly as well. and now there will be some sort of reconciliation if you want to get to a grand bargain. ultimately what you find here, either republican haves to give on the tax issue or democrats will have to give on the entitlement issue or perhaps both.

do you see either one happening now to get that big deal? >> well you know what? the president he already took $600 billion, every single viewer that is watching today that has a job, is getting less coming home because the president took 600 billion out of their paycheck. so you have the taxes. so you have the revenue. what you need now is to curb the spending. this is a spending problem. in washington, d.c. that's why the republican plan when you look at what john taylor says, lets you grow the economy which creates equivalent $1500 into every family's pocket. that is a positive experience with more people working, more money for you, a stronger energy policy, a fairer and simpler tax proposal that we have out there. that is a new america instead of going back to the old way. the one person who is missing in all this is the president. remember, presidents are supposed to submit a budget by the first monday in february. he never missed turning in

his march madness brookket but four out of five years he missed turning in a budget. bill: attorneyment starts tonight. play on. kevin mccarthy, thank you for time on the hill today. >> thanks for having me. bill: all right. martha: there are new problems for the mars rover curiosity. nasa is trying to fix a serious computer glitch we're told. thousands of astronomers are holding their annual meeting. you bet they're talking about that. bill: big brains in that room. did the fbi solve one of america's most infamous art heists? ♪ .

bill: so we hear from the fbi it has made a major break in one of the best

known art heists in u.s. history. it says it now knows who stole 13 masterpieces from boston's isabella stuart museum 23 years ago this week. the fbi is not releasing the names of the suspects and offering only a few clues it says. >> for the first time we can say with a high degree of confidence we determined in the years since the theft the art was transported to connecticut and to the philadelphia area. bill: well the missing art includes three rembrandts, like storm on the sea of gal little lee. and monet. the masterpieces are worth an estimated $500 million. martha: well, we're learning that a computer glitch is putting the mars rover "curiosity" science experiments on a bit of a hold right now. nasa says it is still in contact with its good friend rover up there and hopes to have it fully functioning

this week but it comes after "curiosity" made the most significant discovery yet that by confirming the red planet had the ability to possibly support some forms of life. that is what they're always looking for up there on the red planet. casey stiegel is checking out all of this in dallas. why do they think they believe life could have existed up there? >> reporter: hey, martha, good morning. biased primarily on the existence of water. scientists long thought it was on the red planet but only in the form of ice and now "curiosity" is essentially proving that theory wrong. they have discovered a ancient network of rivers up there have dried up but areas were formed by running water, possibly more than three billion years ago? the rover has been drilling down into the martian surface as well and finding elements like carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, things that living organisms need to survive. >> for the first time we're seeing an ancient environment on mars which is

habitable. it just looks different than the planet does today. instead of red, it's gray. there was plenty of water. the composition of that water was the kind of thing you might have been tempted to take a drink from if you had been there at the time. >> reporter: many of these findings being discussed right now at the lunar and planetary science conference down in houston. a lot of smart folks, martha. martha: yeah, that's for sure. very interesting. so what about this computer glitch, what's that all about? >> reporter: well the rover is about the sizes of a car. it is not operated like a joystick from a videogame. it gets its commands from computer signals. we understand one of those signals failed. so the robot went into safe mode. remember this thing is 140 million miles away. but nasa engineers say they have the problem figured out and "curiosity" will be tooling around up there on the martian surface in the next day or two, martha. martha: amazing. incredible pictures. thanks, casey. >> reporter: yeah. bill: back to the breaking news now, this reported

chemical weapons attack killing at least 25, that is the report now in the country of syria. developments on what we know at the top of the hour. [shouting] [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness? by the armful? by the barrelful? e carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. campbell's. but that doesn't mean i don't want to make money.stor. i love making money. i try to be smart with my investments. i also try to keep my costs down. what's your plan? ishares. low cost and tax efficient. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors

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got ya. that's all you got, brother ? take that. never having to surrender the things that matter. gotcha. that's powerful. verizon. martha: we are following a very disturbing breaking news development out of syria this morning. and we are going to bring you all of the latest on that today. we also want to tell you about a very tragic event that happened today in hawthorne, nevada. it was a deadly explosion that happened during a training exercise. this is new information that we're getting on this. it happened at an army ammunition depot in western nevada, sadly, tragically, seven u.s. marines lost their lives in what happened there at the hawthorne army depot which is about 140 miles southeast of reno. we have a lot more information coming in on that. as we get it. welcome everybody, to a brand new hour of "america's

newsroom." i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. good morning as well. we're told several other marines have been injured. as we continue to look through this story that broke just about an hour ago here. martha: let's go to national security correspondent jennifer griffin who joins us now live from the pentagon. jennifer, what can you tell us about this? >> reporter: martha, the marines will only say that a explosion occurred during a live-fire exercise out at hawthorne army depot in nevada but there are local news reports suggesting that it was a 60-millimeter mortar that exploded inside the casing and that three of those marines were killed almost instantly. the others were, died as they were waiting to be medevaced. there are, we're told, eight others who are injured. three of them seriously. those are from local hospital reports. hawthorne is where the army disposes of its ammunition and stores its ammunition. there are about 3,000 buildings there. it is a 230 squire-mile facility.

they have been doing so since 1930. but we're told the explosion did not come as a result of the ammunition start there, martha. martha: boy, what a tragedy this morning s there reaction yet from the pentagon to these deaths?. >> reporter: there has been reaction from the head of the marines second, 2nd marine expeditionary force. major general raymond c. fox issued the following statement from camp lejeune. quote, we send our prayers and condolences to the families of marines involved in this tragic incident. we remain focused insuring they are supported through this difficult time. we mourn their loss and it is with heavy hearts we remember their courage and sacrifice. all of this, martha, coming on the 10th anniversary of the iraq war when the pentagon is remembering the 4075 u.s. servicemembers who died in iraq. martha: a dark day. thank you so much. jennifer griffin. we'll have more coming up on that. bill: a little bit of background what happens at

hawthorne. an army depot now. the facility stores and disposes of ammunition and provides long term storage for industrial equipment there. the depot is spread out over more than 230 square miles, a big place. comprised of hundreds of buildings. also housed there are slow-moving ammunition and stocks aeighting demille at that -- awaiting demille at thatization there in the state of need. -- nevada. bill: a possible security breach after a nasa contractor, loaded with electronics, arrested onboard a plane bound for his native country of china. the fbi saying that the man was working on deeply sensitive image technology. doug mckelway is tracking the story live from washington. what did they find here, doug? what's up? >> reporter: this guy is a chinese national workinging under contract at nasa national institutes of aerospace on deeply sensitive imaging technology. it has potentially valuable

military applications. his case was brought to the tanks of authorities by a nasa whistle-blower. he was arrested by fbi agents and dulles airport charged with violating the arms ex-trort control act as he awaited a one-way flight to china. tsa officials initially detained him and asked if he was caring electronic devices. he told them he had a cell phone, memory stick and external hard drive and a new computer. however during the search other media items were located that chang did not reveal. an additional laptop, old hard drive and a sim card. congressman frank wolf fears his case may be the tip of the iceberg. >> i have seen documents other nasa contractors similarly employees chinese nationalists. this begs a question how many chinese nationalists currently work at nasa? how many other foreign nationals from other designated countries work at nasa? we did not receive a

response from nasa after the question was raised with a hearing with the ig last week. >> reporter: troubling congressman wolf, mr. jiang allowed by nasa and nia supervisors and take his work and other nasa research back to china for a period of time. hard to believe that, bill. bill: sure is, doug. you wonder if nasa can do much to crack down on this or is it doing anything? >> reporter: remarkably when nasa officials learned of these security violations one of them wrote in an internal e-mail that congressman wolf obtained, listen to this, i think it would be in the government's best interest to be able to continue our work with him and the best use of taxpayers money. wolf believes that this lax security culture at nasa may be a problem at many other nasa centers. he is now asking for a full independent review of their security procedures. bill: got to keep a good eye on the piracy. doug mckelway, thank you. live in washington for us there. martha: all right. back to this breaking news

story right now. syria's state-run news agency claims that rebels have killed 25 people in a chemical attack in northern syria. opposition forces are denying those claims. they are blaming assad's government for that missile attack in aleppo. conor powell joins us now live from jerusalem. he has been on this story for quite some time. conor, what are you hearing about which side is to blame here so far? >> reporter: well, martha, we're hearing conflicting accounts of what happened and who was responsible for using chemical weapons but it does appear based on reports coming out of syria and also western intelligence sources that chemical weapons have been used in and around the province of aleppo. this is a northern area that has been heavily fought over for the last two years between rebels and pro-assad militias and forces. now the state military or the state television that is pro-assad television outlet has been saying for the last few hours that rebels got their hands on chemical

weapons and that they have used them, killing now 25, 26 people in syria with chemical weapons. we don't know what type of weapons were used but rebels and intelligence sources are telling fox news that the rebels did not use chemical weapons. that in fact it was the assad regime that turned their chemical weapons on rebels. very conflicting accounts of what happened but there does appear to be some evidence of chemical weapons. we don't know what type of chemical weapons were used. we've seen video coming out of syria, it appears it was some type of chemical weapon that attacks respiratory functions, not chemical weapons that attack skin. we haven't seen any evidence of burns or anything like that. there is starting to be video coming out of syrian state television indicating some type of chemical weapon is attack the respiratory system. who used it? that is very much unclear, martha. it appears the fight in syria has changed dramatically. martha: awful. you think back to the videos that came out of iraq. the last time i remember,

you know, seeing pictures of the real toll that is taken by chemical weapons and that is what brings this whole story to a whole new level. i'm just looking at some news stories crossing the wires saying that the russian foreign ministry says that syrian rebels used chemical arms, clearly, we're going to hear all kind of people weighing in and defering responsibility to this, to the other side, conor. how long do you think before we'll be able to figure out what really happened here? >> reporter: well getting information out of syria is very difficult. obviously a place where journalists have a very difficult time getting in and out of and getting truthful and accurate information is very difficult but we do understand western intelligence sources are looking into this. there is lot of effort. the united states said the use of chemical weapons is a red line for the united states. other countries in the regions sort of hinted at the same thing. this is something that the international community does not want to see involved being used in syria but right now it is simply too tough to tell who used them and what type of weapon was

used, martha. but we hope we will have more information soon. martha: conor, thank you very much. i mentioned this before when we talked to ambassador bolton about what the white house had said in the past about the use of chemical weapons in syria and now we have the quote, this is president obama from august 20th, 2012. he said we can not have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people. we've been very clear to the assad regime but also to other players on the ground that is a red line for us. if we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized that would change my calculus said president obama in 2012. we will get reaction from the white house on this that will come at about ten: 30 as we get a closer look what is going on in syria. let's look at some of the known chemical weapons capabilities. it is estimated that sir was ha several tons of must --

mustard gas and nerve agents. they have 600 warheads capable of delivering those chemical agents. syria has an estimated 50 sites associated with their chemical weapons program. this is obviously big news. as the president said in the past this could change the calculus of this situation, bill. bill: martha, this is a war that has gone on for two years. this is the region we're looking at. turkey up to the north and west, israel to the south and jordan. you have the long shared border with the country of iraq to syria's east. capital city of damascus. what we believe to be the story of the moment, well north of damascus, fleer the town of a help bow -- aleppo. that is the largest town in northern syria. more than two million people call aleppo home. it was in this region the incident took place. a couple of interesting details. syria never signed a conventional weapons agreement. only one of eight nation that has not signed that

agreement. also with regard to chemical weapons in that country we believe you could have at least 12 different sites set up throughout the country of syria that house and store the chemical weapons which has been a major concern since this war broke out two years ago. but most of these sites would be in the central and northern section of the country. if there are survivors too and based on what we're hearing right now about those reports inside syria, which is a tough place to report on, as you well know at home, there are survivors and those survivors will be automobile to tell a tale now as to what happened there and we'll see who the victims are too, to find out if it is truly the government blaming the rebels or the vice-versa with the rebels blaming assad regime. martha. martha: we'll stay own the breaking news story. we'll get you more in a moment. meantime, a tax grab in one of the largest states in the country. what state officials did that is hitting small businesses very hard. plus this. [shouting] bill: that is is a union

battle in a city on the brink of bankruptcy. they have a got a lot of problems. why what is happening there could have national implications. we'll talk about that. martha: also, the republican party with some new plans for some very big changes where party leaders are looking for inspiration next. >> they though what works as opposed to washington which has a lot of theories what ought to work but not necessarily what does work. governors are making it happen. many of them live in states where they have to balance their budget every year, have to live within their means. washington could really take a lesson from so many of these governors. [ female announcer ] hey ladies, you love it, you gotta have it. cinnamon toast crunch. 'cause that cinnamon and sugar is so irresistible. [ slurps ] [ chuckles ] everybody craves those crazy squares. tens of thousands of dollars in hidden fees on their 401(k)s?! go to e-trade and roll over your old 401(k)s

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bill: back to the breaking news and a tragedy for the u.s. military. new video from the scene at the hawthorne army depot. a fox news confirming a fatal accident occurred during a training exercise around 10:00 local time on monday night at the hawthorne army depot.

this is southeast of reno, about 150 miles. seven servicemembers, seven u.s. marines are dead and several others are injured from the second marine division. notification for the families ongoing we're told through the military. the injured were transported to area hospitals for treatment and further evaluation. a sad story to report from overnight affecting the u.s. military. martha: well, a major new effort by the republican party to overhaul the gop. that comes on the heels of november's election loss. the rnc admitting in a new report, that they are saying that the party is out of touch with voters nationwide they believe. here is a quote from that report. time for republicans on the federal level to learn from successful republicans on the state level in time to smartly change course, modernize the party and learn once again how to appeal to more people including those who share some but not all of our conservative principles. 30 states currently have

republican governors. virginia governor bob mcdonnell is one of them. good to have you with us today. >> reporter: thanks, martha. martha: what do you think when you hear that term to modernize the party? >> well i think it means we need to start winning and the fact that we have lost a couple of, two consecutive presidential races means that we've got to figure out what we're missing and who we're missing. and i think the message to young voters new voters, ethnic voters, casual voter that comes out irv four years to vote in the presidential race, that is what we're missing. as you point out 60% of the america has a republican governor, 30 states and they're doing well and winning. most of them are popular. , laboratory fors happening democracy, good story for washington. martha: i want to play a little bit of governor mitt romney from cpac because he pointed out exactly that. let's listen. >> i would urge us all to learn lessons from come from

some of our greatest success stories and that's 30 republican governors across the country. [applause] people like bob mcdonnell, scott walker, john kasich, suzanna martinez, chris christie, brian sandoval, these are the people we have to listen to and make sure their message is herd lout and clear across the country. martha: he said these are people we have to listen to. unfortunately you were not invited to the conference, governor. what do you think about that? >> that's fine. i spoken in the past a couple years. last year i spoke in washington and chicago at cpac. al cardenas is good friend. i spoke to the prayer brake fast on cpac on friday. and our candidate for governor, ken cuccinelli was the lead speaker. one governor is probably enough. no, look it's fine. i think bigger point we need to find a way to do, take the good, solid, conservative message, fiscal and conservative, demonstrate to people why it works.

show that governors using those principles are actually getting results. i call it results oriented conservatism. that's what we do. balanced budgets, low taxes, limited regulation. job creation, pension reform, education reform. this is working and it's getting results for people and that's what people want. they want government to work well and stay out of their way and spend their money wisely and that's what governors do. martha: that is one of the big questions. reince priebus talked about reaching out to groups like the naacp and la raza and there is an editorial this morning in "the national review" which disagrees with that notion. says no. actually what conservatives need to do is prove to hispanics why they have a better way of helping people of helping the middle class. what do you think? >> i don't think those are inconsistent. we need to stick to our principles. if we become more like the democratic party, they don't need us. we have bright colors that reagan talked about which is what we stand for on taxes, regulation, spending life, family.

marriage, other things like that, that are pillars of the republican party. but then i think they're right. show people of all ethnicities, of income stratus, show why the principles are best for america, why they work. again governors with laboratories of democracy a best place to do that. i'm glad reasons preeb does did that. i was on the initial committee that looked at this. we're winning at state levels but we're losing at the presidential level. this autopsy as he called it i think it is smart. let's be honest. people want to know how much we care before they care how much we know. we have to be the party that appeals to people's head, i mean heart and not just their head with facts and figures on the budget w you have to let people know we care deeply about the future america and they start listening to us a little bit more. we can do both. stick to the principles. engage new groups. we have to do it or we'll lose. martha: you have your work cut out for you according to

that report. governor mcdonnell, always good to have you with us. >> thanks, martha. bill: there is breaking news on the middle east just in on the chemical attack killing 26 based on the reporting we're getting in syria. the white house response on that moments away. martha: plus developments on a major security breach right here in the united states. we'll be right back

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martha: we are just getting our first look at video that we're told is of victims of a chemical attack in syria. this comes to us, keep in mind, from syrian state tv. so this is supposedly the video that is inside these hospitals of people who are being treated or from chemical attacks. this is very fast-moving story but we wanted to get this to you. it is the latest view that

we are seeing. more to come from syria moments away. bill: anytime you hear that, martha, about chemical weapons, it really raises --. martha: big concerns. bill: big concerns what is happening over there and what the future is for that conflict. back to syria in a moment. we also want to talk about this story too. a nasa contractor was arrested trying to flee back to his native china. raising significant questions about our own security. bill daly, former fbi investigator and senior vice president and practice leader at control risk securitying consulting. good morning to you. >> good to be here. bill: national scientist from china, bo jiang, is his name. what was he up to? >> bill apparently this eminated from testimony before congress. congressman frank wolf was reporting that nasa has had serious security problems? fact through a series of whistle-blower complaints he was very concerned about security and he mentioned they would look further into it. let's fast forward to this

weekend where the gentleman bo jiang buy as one-way ticket back to china, the fbi interseeds, predicated i would imagine on the whistle-blower complaints. bill: pick him up at dulles and before he can leave the country. >> questioned about what he has and lies to them. bill: he had some sort of electronic media with him? >> loaded don't between cell phone, sim card, memory stick, a new computer that he had. during the course of the inquery and asked what he had. he misled them and lied to them. they had predication to hold him and they're holding him in federal court. bill: makes us a little suspicious. nasa has a record here of perhaps not the best security. what do you know about that. >> bill, very hard, especially those of us who grew up with nasa and the space program and great moments they stride for with a serious security compromises. in 2011 they had over 5000 breaches of security.

may have been minor ones or where people left something on a laptop or serious ones. a nasa employee with very sensitive employee data had unencrypted laptop stolen from oust car in washington. people in jet propulsion laboratory, had uproar, it had personal information, back ground data on individuals. bill: nasa has an issue. they have to do something about. we talked about that with doug mckelway. they like to take the intellectual property and go back to beijing or china and copy it. that is the danger. >> that is the danger when we're not too sure right now. they're investigating to see whether actual espionage is going on here. but the fact that people can take information, bring it back to their home country, get a fast forward on our dime on the money we spent, the time we spent developing technology and move their programs that much further along. and right now, he is being held on, an investigation around arms control export

because they feel as though some of the systems that he had access to and information he may have had on him pertaining to drone type technologies for aerospace defense technologies. bill: wow!. >> missile technologies. bill: serious, serious matter too. you mentioned too that his story wasn't straight when they talked to him. >> that's right. bill: something to watch. bill, thank you. we'll see where this goes. about 28 minutes past. here is martha with more. martha: a move by the governor of michigan to save a dying city has met heavy resistance there. [shouting] boy, what a story this is. and the union battle in one city that could affect communities around the country. bill: also lindsay lohan facing a judge yet again. but this time she wasn't the only one stealing that spotlight. >> these are official representatives. that is more important than any reason you're here. >> no, no. you let go. you have something to say to me about my daughter?

martha: all right, we want to get you the latest on the breaking news situation in syria. the numbers are changing as we speak really, but the latest is about 25 people killed in a chemical attack in syria. this has sparked fears across the region, here at home as well. president obama talked about syria last august x here is what he said. we're going to hear something from the white house soon, but here's what he said in august:

martha: all right, we want to martha: so how does this change the calculus for syria in the white house? molly henneberg joins live from there. good morning, molly. >> reporter: good morning, martha. we should hear from the white house today. jay carney has a briefing in about 30 minutes, the white house has said to expect that they will have some comment on this. also the president has an event right now at the white house with the irish prime minister, that should be getting underway in a few minutes. reporters likely will today some questions to him on this topic, we'll see what he says about this. but as you said in the introduction, the president has said previously that the use of chemical weapons in syria would cross the, quote, red line.

syrian state tv says the rebels used the weapons, the rebels say the assad government used them. we're not clear on exactly what happened. 25 people were killed, 86 people wounded after a potential chemical weapons attack on a village near aleppo in northern syria. the president had said that if chemical weapons are used, that it would change his calculus, change his approach to syria. the president has been very clear that this would not, that this civil war in syria would not involve the u.s. militarily, but now if chemical weapons have been used, does that change that in his mind? certainly, one of the questions that reporters will put to jay carney in about 30 minutes. martha: it certainly is. molly henneberg reporting from the white house. very fast-moving situation. we'll bring you there in about 30 minutes. bill: just after the briefing. new protests, meanwhile, in detroit over public unions. the city drowning in $18 billion of debt, unions planning to

fight the qo's decision to -- the governor's decision to bring in an emergency manager to solve all of this. the newly-aponteed manager has sweeping powers to potentially scrap the union contracts. matt mccall is president of penn financial group, elizabeth macdonald from the fox business network here to analyze this, and good morning to both of you. >> good morning. bill: you look at the facts of the economic story in detroit, there is no good news from that city. >> yeah. bill: um, where do you start with this outside intervener? >> what he has to do is set the stage where he's going to try to negotiate union contracts, government worker contracts. but, you know, it's been done throughout the state of michigan, you know? a number of other cities have been doing this, pontiac. we've seen success in say hoe, california. if he prenegotiates and gets the union contracts and the city budge under control, that's key. if he does, then to bankruptcy, and they don't want

to go to bankruptcy because the bond markets could shut them out. bill: his name is kevin orr, and he said don't make me go to bankruptcy court. bankruptcy's been my stock and trade, i'm very comfortable -- >> nobody wins really. and the debt holders of detroit, they get paid even less. so they want to negotiate, the unions want to negotiate as bell. the problem here is mr. orr comes in, he has to raise revenue and cut spending at the same time. you can't raise revenue in a city that the population's dropped 50% over the last seven years, unemployment's at 18%. how do you raise revenue with that? so you have to cut spending. where does the spending come from? almost $15 billion in union contracts and benefits, unfunded liabilities. that's where you have to cut. >> one move he could make is to merge detroit with another city. we've seen that happen in california. but -- bill: do you go to grosse point? bottom yak? >> merge fire departments,

merge -- you know what i mean? they've been rapidly trying to privatize the assets in michigan, but whether he can pull this off is so key to avoid bankruptcy. it'd be the country's biggest bankruptcy to date, and whether or not the federal government steps in because this is -- bill: are you smelling bailout? >> i'm smelling -- well, it's an issue because motor city, the president did step in to help out the auto industry and took credit for it. whether he steps in to help the city is an entirely different ball game. bill: let me share with our viewers how deep the hole is. on the screen, $100 million general fund deficit by june of 2013. $14 billion in long-term liabilities, matt, you were referring to this, average unemployment rate of 18% over the past year. i mean, there's nothing good here. >> i mean, honestly, i hate to say this, but there's a point where you just bulldoze detroit. what can you do? you can't get people to move there, you can't get companies

to work there. how about this stat? in detroit 400 liquor stores, zero chain supermarkets. bill: is that a fact? >> zero chain supermarkets in detroit. but 400 liquor stores. how do you get a company to come in there? >> and one of four houses have foreclosure filings. bill: both of you have reflected over time time now about the dysfunction in the government. >> yeah. bull bill so is the only way out for republican governor rick snyder to appoint a guy to say this is what i'm going to cut out, and this is how i'm going to get your house in order? is that the only -- >> >> that's where they're at right now. if not, they go to bankruptcy, and you will see all of your contracts cuts if you do not prenegotiate. bill: that could force people to the table, could it not? >> i think he has to come off strong in the beginning, but the

unions have no choice because eventually they're going to go bankrupt, they're not going to get paid. these union contracts, they're so overinflated, it's ridiculous. so they can take a little bit of cuts, in my mind. bill: e. mac,. catch you soon, okay? martha, what's next? martha: this morning was quite a morning at the vatican. a pope for the people. pope francis mixing with thousands of the faithful in st. peter's square. look at him in his open-air jeep. it was a beautiful morning in rome today. at times he got out, he hopped out, he, you know, kissed people, embraced them, shook their hands. he is the first pope, as you well know by now, from latin america, and the first named for francis of assisi, pope francis, calling for service to the poorest and weakest in society. >> translator: it means protecting people, showing love and concern for each other and

every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need who are often the last we think about. martha: quite an amazing morning. bill: love his message too. martha: i know. and he said let us never forget that authentic power is service. just think about that. it's an amazing quote. bill: i mentioned this yesterday too, i mean, the man loves the job. [laughter] he's always smiling, he's always happy. he's given his security deal fits, you imagine -- martha: no doubt. bill: he did it again. martha: no more behind the bulletproof glass. bill: there's an image, too, where he stops, and he went over to greet a man who was clearly ailing. martha: yes. bill: in the arms of -- martha: beautiful moment. we're going to be watching very closely in the days and weeks to come from rome this morning, a stunning, stunning sight. so from a 13-hour filibuster to winning cpac's straw poll, now another big move from senator rand paul. boy, has he been in the news

lately. why he's breaking with many republicans on a key immigration issue. we'll be right back. >> unfortunately, like many of the debates in washington, immigration has become a stalemate where both sides are imprisoned by their own rhetoric or attached to sacred cows that prevent the possibility of a balanced solution. immigration will not occur until conservative republicans, like myself, become part of the solution.

martha: he's a rising republican, senator rand paul endorses a pathway to citizenship. he says both sides need to give a little in order to get some real reform done here. listen to what he had to say. >> i think the conversation needs to start by acknowledging that we aren't going to deport 12 million illegal immigrants. [applause]

if you, if you wish to work, if you wish to live and work if america, then we will find a place for you. in order to bring conservatives to this cause, however, those who work for reform must understand that a real solution must insure that our borders are secure. we must also treat those who are here already with understanding and compassion without also unduly rewarding them for coming illegally. martha: well, the u.s. border with mexico extends nearly 2,000 miles. securing that border has been a very difficult task that has not yet been accomplished. joined now by angela kelly at the center for american progress and bob dane as a communications director at the federation for american immigration reform. welcome to both of you. angela, you were there this morning, i understand, at this speech. what was the reaction? >> very positive. i think he's going to start a new club of republicans who stand with rand. he got a lot of applause.

i think there's a growing recognition particularly from the business perspective, this was the hispanic chamber of commerce breakfast, that it's an economic winner, that we need to have reforms. we have 11 million people who are coming forward, paying taxes. we have a sensible legal immigration system is something we need so we attract the best and the brightest that people come with visas, not with smugglers. so it was very well every received. martha: bob, you know, this will not sit well with many of rand paul's tea party followers, but you hear what angela says, you know? the feeling is that they need to get with the program. that's what the other side's saying. what do you say? >> i don't think this is going to be stand with rand, t going to be fall with paul. we need to dispense with the notion that amnesty has anything to do at all with reforming our immigration system, and republicans need to understand it has nothing to do with reforming the party. party politics should not be playing into what we do with immigration, but if the gop is

bound and determined to do it, here's a news flash, you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind to see there's not a civil war waging on this issue, much to obama's delight. the democrats will steal all of the thunder. american workers are going to go bananas because they don't think much of flooding the market with 11 million legalized workers and, sadly, the most illegal aliens are heavily government-dependent and an amnesty gives the democrats 11 million voters. martha: you look at the tide of candidates for 2016, rand paul is looking to clearly be one of those. let's take a look at a couple of the very big names and hear what thai saying on this. >> we're suggesting that there be a path to legalization, that people that are here come out from the shadows. that is a far cry from telling people they just have to go back to their home country. >> we can also help grow our economy if we have a legal

immigration system that allows us to attract the world's pest and brightest. -- best and brightest. martha: paulline, chris christie, i mean, it clearancely seems to be where those people believe they need to be headed if they want to get elected. what do you think? >> yeah, i think that's right. and the rnc said the same thing these past few days. you can argue the politics on it. i do think it's critical for the republican party to put this issue behind them so they can try and engage in earnest the latino voters. right now saying you're going to deport someone's grandmother is not a winning way. we need a solution so that, yes, we know who's here, we make sure that they're paying taxes, that we have a legal immigration system so we have needed workers when our economy gets stronger. the reason you have so many businessmen applauding for immigration reform is because it works for the american economy. martha: you know, i mean, bob, there's just a practical sense,

as rand paul said at the top of that, of trying to kick all these people out of the country. it doesn't sit well with voters in many ways, apparently, we live learned in the last -- we learned in the last election. >> well, of course, it's all about cheap labor, that's why they're behind amnesty, and you simply need to dry up the incentives that cause so many to come and so many to stay. you know, talking about practicality, here we are moving into a cop ten white house and a protracted yet again amnesty battle when instead the easier and more practical thing is to do what the law says. congress has got to compel this president to enforce the laws already on the books. martha: the white house would say they've ejected more people than the previous white house. >> that's exactly right. we have the most money being spent at the border right now. >> no, it's a complete fallacy. deportation -- [inaudible conversations] martha: i'm sorry, but we're almost out of time. i'll let you respond to that,

bob. go ahead. >> the only individuals who are being debolterred are those with violent -- deimportanted are those -- deported are those with violent histories. congress has got to enforce the laws, compel the president to do it and for extra credit let's initiate mandatory nationwide e-verify and protect american jobs -- martha: we've got to leave it there. bob and angela, thank you very much. it's going to be a hot topic in the months to come, no doubt. bill: so jenna lee rolls your way in ten minutes. jenna: more on breaking news out of nevada where seven marines have been killed in a training explosion. news of a chemical attack in syria, we're awaiting comments from the white house, we'll have that for you live. plus, ten years since the iraq war, a special news watch panel on the story as it's been told, and we'll take a look at the war we're still fighting in afghanistan. plus, a new study that provides

evidence lack of sleep is helping make us fat. we just can't win, right? we'll have all that top of the hour on "happening now." when did you know that grandma was the one? when her sister dumped me. grandpa was my dad a goodthlete? no. oh dad, you remember my friend alex? yeah. the one that had the work done... good to see you. where do we go when we die? the ground. who's your girlfriend? his name is chad. and that's where babies come from. [ male announcer ] sometimes being too transparent can be a bad thing.

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bill: there is some anger boiling over in the state of california. state officials hit hundreds of small businesses with a retroactive tax increase after the tax authority decided anyone who profited from selling a start-up company in the past five years needs to cough up more money. william la jeunesse is live in l.a. to sort through this with more now. good morning. >> reporter: when government needs money, sometimes there are no limits to what it will do. in cypress it means taking money out of your bank account arbitrarily. in california it means you follow a law only to have the state change the rules, then demand back taxes, interest and

penalties for five years. >> this notice was the first they heard of it. >> reporter: to brian overstreet, it felt like a punch in the gut complements of california, a six-figure big for back taxes. >> that's what's most outrageous. it's not only a five-year lookback, it's including interest on money you had no idea you owed. >> reporter: overstreet recently got a letter telling him due to a court ruling, a 50% tax break for small business and start-up investors was no longer available, and anyone who claimed it in the last five years had to pay up. >> retroactivity is an issue of fairness and credibility for california. >> reporter: even california's tax leaders say what the state is doing is unfair, overreacting and overreaching, hoping to claw back some $120 million for cash-strapped california. >> the problem right now we have is once the revenue is identified, those folks up in sacramento will figure out how to spend it already. >> reporter: pro-business lawmakers are trying to rescind the letter, fearing high-tech

investors who helped build the state's venture capital economy will flee to lower tax states. >> the game is rigged. you can't possibly win, because we have the right to change the rules on you after the fact. and that's what's not fair. >> reporter: and some lawmakers now agree and have convinced the tax man to offer a temporary reprieve while sacramento tries to work out a solution. but if it wasn't for these concerned effort, bill, by these guys to unwind the decision, they would have been penalized for the state's mistake. back to you. bill: good old california. you chose to live there, william. good luck. see you later. >> reporter: thank you. bill: all right. martha: breaking news out of an army base in nevada where we have learned today that seven marines have been killed, an unknown number are wounded after an explosion. we're following the latest out of hawthorne as investigators try to figure out what happened. we'll be right back.